Question of the Day: “How do I avoid raising boys who suffer from toxic masculinity?”

Toxic masculinity refers to the masculine “traits” that so often describe men. Masculinity has long taken pride in its high levels of physical strength, emotional detachment, and brute force. But these traits can quickly become dangerous when left unchecked. Brute force can easily turn into an unmitigated violence. Emotional detachment can spiral into an inability…

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Question of the Day: “What would you say if you could tell every single person in the world just one thing?”

This is not “my” question. I just read it in the book 101 Essays that will Change the way You Think, but I think it’s a great question. It has really made me think. One word? To everyone in the world? Crazy, right. The first word that comes to me is LOVE, in caps, just…

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Question of the Day: “What have I learned from ‘Just Mercy’?”

The word ‘mercy’ has its origins in French as well as old English. It means to grant forgiveness to the seemingly undeserving. In his book Just Mercy, Brian Stevenson writes, “The power of just mercy is that it belongs to the undeserving. It’s when mercy is least expected that it’s most potent—strong enough to break…

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Question of Day: “What do you say when your teen says he has trust issues?”

My son Cole is 14 years old and has been in his first “real” relationship for about six months now. Last night he turned to me and said that he is really having a tough time adjusting to a long term relationship. “What do you mean?” I asked. I was not sure what he was…

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In What Feels Like a World Gone Mad, I’m an Educator.

Going to work has been tough. I love my job. It gives me “the feels” everyday, but I am exhausted and burned out like so many educators. But in this moment of what feels like madness, the Universe has sent me light. This morning I received a text from my TA. She is going to…

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Question of the Day: “Should the right thing really be that hard?”

There are a lot of tough things to deal with in education right now. Our students are not where they need to be. We are still suffering from issues involving COVID. We are being asked to do an extremely important task with little to no support from people who are in positions of power. In…

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Question of the day: “What does it means to me to walk the line?”

In the famous movie Walk the line about Johnny Cash, there is an iconic scene where Johnny Cash is drunk on stage with his bandmates before the concert. Peggy Carter sees them drunk and is furious. She argues with Cash and says, “Ya’ll can’t walk no line.” This supposedly gave rise to Cash’s song Walk…

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Question of the Day: “Why am I praying this much this early in the morning?”

My anxiety levels are through the roof. My heart is racing. Two students in my first period are stressing me out. They are a brother and a sister who struggle considerably with school. They are quickly becoming my number 1 and number 2 reasons for not wanting to come to school. They are late every…

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education, Spiritual, Uncategorizededucation, featured, prayer4 Comments on Question of the Day: “Why am I praying this much this early in the morning?”

Advice to 30 Somethings from a Forty Something

After the past seven years, I am feeling pretty schooled in the ways of the world. In addition, this past COVID year and recent changes in my life have caused me to feel as if I have advice to give. You may be thinking what my qualifications are for giving you advice. Here is my…

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Question of the Day: “What’s with all the crazy?”

The word “crazy” gets thrown around our house a lot more than I’d like. Having grown up with a schizophrenic grandmother and a mother who was institutionalized for “further observation”, the word crazy carries a sensitive connotation for me. The word itself is defined as being mentally deranged, manifested in an aggressive way, so it…

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